Climbing Rincon Peak

Along with my friends Andre Fasciola and Steve Rooke, I climbed Rincon Peak southeast of Tucson, Arizona on March 24-25, 2009. The 24-mile roundtrip to the 8,400-foot summit was a challenge, but at age 66, my body did just fine. These photos are by Andre and Steve.

Making a meal with a friend. Pouring dried, reconstituted morel mushrooms into a backpacking-stove pot held by a friend of 30 years, Steven Rooke. Rooke has climbed Rincon Peak seven times, and served as the trip's guide.

Resting at the summit. The brace on my left knee is for pain I sometimes feel when pushing the joint during strenuous exercise. If I do something very stressful to the knee, it may hurt for a day or two, but that's it. I was concerned about carrying a 30-pound pack up the mountain and even more about the long descent, so I took the brace along. I put it on about an hour before reaching our campsite at 6,200 feet (Happy Valley Saddle) when I felt some pain (left lateral aspect of joint). Was not bothered after that and no joint problems or foot problems at all on the whole hike. Only aftereffect was moderate soreness of quadriceps for 2 days (from the descent).